M-RCBG Senior Fellow-Led Study Group: David Grigorian
Thursday, April 18, 4:15-5:45
M-RCBG Conference Room (B-102)
Sovereign domestic debt restructurings possess a distinct feature that separates them from external debt restructurings. This feature—in essence a negative externality—is the direct (and often significant) costs imposed on the local financial system when domestic debt is restructured. These costs are due to the existence of a strong nexus between sovereign and domestic financial institutions, which during the episodes of sovereign stress could impact the balance sheet and income position of those institutions. Internalizing this externality reduces the (fiscal) savings of a debt exchange and makes domestic debt restructurings inherently more complex than external debt restructurings.
Using the experience of Jamaica in 2010, the study group will discuss the channels through which sovereign debt restructuring impact domestic banking system and the ways to contain potential financial stability risks.
The discussion will feature former Director of Jamaica’s 
Debt Management Office, Pamella McLaren, and M-RCBG Senior Fellow Gregory Makoff as special guests.
Suggested reading: Grigorian, David A., Trevor Alleyne, and Alejandro Guerson, 2012. “Jamaica Debt Exchange,” IMF Working Paper 12/244, Washington, DC.
This study group / discussion is open only to HUID holders.
M-RCBG welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs. To request accommodations or ask questions about access provided, please email: mrcbg@hks.harvard.edu
David Grigorian has had a successful career at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC, having worked on some of the most visible and impactful IMF programs of the past two decades. Throughout his tenure at Monetary and Capital Markets Department, Dr. Grigorian has provided technical assistance advice to governments in a variety of emerging market and advanced countries on issues of sovereign debt restructuring, debt market development, and financial crisis management. For his role in helping the authorities of Jamaica restructure their sovereign debt in 2010, Dr. Grigorian received an Outstanding Effort Award from the IMF’s Managing Director. During 2016-18, Dr. Grigorian was in Asia Pacific Department, where he led the IMF mission to Bhutan and conducted oversight of financial sector in Singapore and Malaysia. In his previous position as the desk economist on Iraq, he helped the country authorities prepare the federal budgets for 2007-09 under occupation and complete two back-to-back Stand-By Arrangements that led to the world’s largest sovereign debt relief ever provided by the Paris Club. Prior to joining the IMF in 2001, Dr. Grigorian worked at the World Bank, where he managed banking sector restructuring projects in Central Asia. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park and has published extensively in refereed economic journals on a wide range of issues including sovereign debt, banking and capital markets, growth and institutions, remittances, and fiscal performance, and his research is cited widely. Dr. Grigorian also co-founded and led Policy Forum Armenia, a virtual anti-corruption think-tank uniting nearly 50 researchers and public policy professionals with interest in Armenia’s development. As an M-RCBG Senior Fellow, he will be focusing on sovereign debt restructuring issues. His faculty sponsor is Carmen Reinhart, Minos A. Zombanakis Professor of the International Financial System at Harvard Kennedy School. Email: dgrigorian@hks.harvard.edu